:: peace like a river/pages 70-128 ::

[photo by Robin. She was drinking hot chocolate and eating a fruit & nut power bagel, both from Einstein Bros.]

I thought it was interesting, and surprising, that Reuben agreed with one premise from that hackneyed (as Swede described it) article from the Minneapolis Star:

"Tommy Basca was an idiot, but he wasn't purebred evil. You could see looking at him that he might be somebody's Bubby. He tagged after Israel Finch because Israel Finch liked having a disciple and no one else was witless enough to want the job."
[page 71]

Maybe so, but Basca receives no pardon from me. He was still some kind of evil, even if he veered toward the dumb side. After all, said Reuben, "Tommy was an accomplice the night of her [Swede's] horrible ride. He grinned during it." [page 71]

I scoffed at how quickly the public opinion of Davy changed by one poorly-written newspaper article. The written word does hold a lot of power - for better or for worse - and readers are easily swayed if they aren't thinking sharp. However, I think most media outlets (in this story and in our society) are fickle, too. Most popular news sources today don't seem so interested in the truth as they do a sensational story. And as Rube said, "Do you think poor Mrs. Basca could've guessed at the power of tragedy?" [page 71] Probably not, but tragedy holds power, too. Though I think the Star's portrayal of Basca and Finch was ridiculous, maybe they were right to some degree? I mean, most of us in this book discussion think Davy committed murder, even if we understand his motivation somewhat.

Well, I thought I understood until we read about the trial, how Davy lured both boys back to his house, by ruining Israel Finch's car. I still believe Davy was tired of his family's torment, and rightly so, but luring the boys like that sounds even more like murder.

Even though I'm jumping ahead here, I'll say that the trial was most interesting, too. Davy did not seem at all concerned or even scared about his situation - he made faces at Reuben, trying to crack him up! Typical brothers. And right before Rube's verbal slip-ups (which were funny to me and very much like an 11-year-old), Davy smiled:

"And do you know, when Davy looked back, something was different. Something in the look itself - it was untethered somehow, loosed from Elvis and the jury and judge. He smiled at me from some planetary distance."
[page 91]

Folks, Davy knew good and well what he was getting into when he shot those boys. I really don't think he had any remorse. Do you?

.... There was another mention of "public inconstancy" on page 96, after Davy escaped from jail by pony (much to Swede's delight):

"Having 'up and disappeared,' Davy'd clearly reacquired the allure that had evaporated so easily when people heard about Bubby. Now he was back to 'bold outlaw,' and while I liked the change I'd also learned a bit by now about public inconstancy."

Do y'all think the media is as fickle as I do - in the story and in our lives?

About Davy escaping - I didn't know how he would do it, but I knew he would. Did you? I almost wondered if he, too, had a few miracles up his sleeve. But nope, he just duped the guards. Davy might be odd and vengeful, but he is a smart one, in some sense. I think all three children are remarkable in their own ways, in fact.

Now, let's go back several pages. I thought the whole pilgrim hat scenario was pretty funny, starting with these sentences:

"You can imagine what a treat these [gingerbread turkeys] were, especially juxtaposed against our general feelings toward the cafeteria. Even as we sat, prying lids off milk bottles, we could hear the persecuted cooks banging around back in the kitchen, grandmas barking at each other, preparing the daily grotesque."
[page 75]

"Daily grotesque" is hilarious! At least my school's cafeteria fit that bill. And then, Holgren wearing one of those paper pilgrim hats was even funnier, and sad. But who in the heck wrote "SHOOT ME!" on his hat, do you think?

I somewhat understood Reuben's embarrassment of his Dad's career. My Dad was principal of my high school. I was never, ever embarrassed by him - I was actually quite proud of his position and the way he did his job. But my fellow classmates were not always kind. If my Dad made a decision we didn't like, I could easily let it go because he was my Dad and I love him so. But kids can be cruel. I grew weary of my friends poking fun at their principal as if I'd just understand. So, I knew what Rube meant by:

"And this bothered me, too: Dad would come into a room, pushing his broom, and always some dumb kid would turn to me and smirk. Janitor's kid. Mop jockey. Cleaned up any good puke lately? I'm sorry if you thought better of me, but the fact is I spent whole hours imagining alarming humiliations for those kids - big dumb kids, always, with effortless all-star lungs."
[pages 77-78]

But I think it's important to note that Reuben was not merely embarrassed by his Dad's job. It's more that he thought Jeremiah deserved better than being a janitor; he was "beloved by God", after all. "To see him therefore in janitor clothes seemed to me the result of a strange and discomforting arithmetic." [page 77]

If Reuben thought he was confused by those thoughts, then how about when he witnessed his Dad heal Holgren's complexion with a strange, quick, slap on his face? I ask you - why do you think Jeremiah healed Holgren of all people? I still can't figure it out, but it seems that miracle had more of a punishment effect on Holgren. I don't think he liked being healed by his humble enemy one bit. Not at all.

And poor Reuben! My heart physically ached when he wouldn't go home with his Dad:

"But I shook my head. I just couldn't go with him. Nor could I tell him it wasn't his public mistreatment that stole my breath and blocked my tongue; it was something too mean to explain. It was the fact that Chester the Fester, the worst man I'd ever seen, even worse in his way than Israel Finch, got a whole new face to look out of and didn't even know to be grateful; while I, my father's son, had to be still and resolute and breathe steam to stay alive."
[page 80]

Wait - do y'all think Holgren was worse than Finch? I don't know about that. But I just wanted to hug Reuben. I don't think Jeremiah controls which miracles he performs. This one seemed to flow from his shocked emotions, but I don't think he would have chosen to heal Holgren. That seemed very clearly of God, though very mysterious; very perplexing. And I do wonder - why hasn't he healed Reuben yet? I think we'd all wonder the same thing, 11 years old or not.

Now, I know some of you find it hard to believe that Swede can write poetry like she does, and that's OK - I'm enjoying everyone's opinions as we read. But to defend Swede a little - she sure is charming - even Reuben notices her mature behavior and intellect. For instance, when he and Swede were sleeping in the DeCuellar's study, and Swede wanted to take knives and break Davy out of jail, Reuben talked her out of it. And he said, "It was one of those rare moments when I actually felt older than Swede." [page 87] I think this means that Swede often behaved older than her years.

Also, didn't Mr. DeCuellar own some great books? C.S. Lewis and Graham Greene? Of course Swede selected a volume of poetry by Robert Louis Stevenson to read. When she and Reuben both got a chill from the following lines, that's when I knew for sure Davy would escape:

"Whenever the moon and stars are set,
Whenever the moon is high,
All night long in the dark and wet,
A man goes riding by."
[page 87]

But back to Swede - she giggled furiously when Sheriff Pym misspoke by saying "onus eye" instead of "evil eye." She understood vocabulary better than most adults. Or this paragraph:

"'It would be like forsaking all hope of his return,' Swede said. I know the sentence deserved an accompanying swoon, but this was how she got sometimes and by now you oughtn't to be surprised."
[page 113]

See, Swede's family is used to her ways, but we just don't know many 9-year-olds quite like her! She grew up to be a professor, too.

We see more of Swede's poetry on pages 100, 105, and 106. Though I still love her writing, my previous comparisons don't seem so clear cut as before. I jotted in my journal:

"-I still see Sunny Sundown as Jeremiah, and I don't like the idea of either hung.
-Davy does seem like Valdez to me - he got away and Swede still can't/doesn't want to kill him.
-Or am I wrong in my comparisons?
-Who are the Reddick boys? Sure seem like Finch and Basca. Perhaps things like good and evil aren't so clear cut for me in this story, either.
-'an unreasoning fear that Valdez was no invention. That he was real and coming toward us on solid earth.' [page 101] Yikes. Davy??
-Every Western is a love story?"

There were a few times that Jeremiah surprised me in these pages. His typical Christ-like behavior was evident when he was ill with pneumonia; he asked Reuben if that's what asthma felt like. He thought of his son's discomfort more than his own. Yet Jeremiah was very depressed over Davy's absence. Jeremiah is a great man, but he is human, after all. Or when Andreeson - the federal investigator - dropped by the house; Jeremiah doesn't seem like he plans to give Davy up to any authority. I believe he will protect his son at any cost, even a dangerous one. Do you agree?

I was also very impressed by Swede's and Reuben's care for their sick father. Swede showed that special maturity again by turning into quite a "mom." She rightly saw that Rube should use his hard-earned money for groceries. She even whipped up the Christmas meal, which, by the way, made me very happy - to see the Land family feast after a dark period of little food and Jeremiah's weakened health. And though Reuben hesitated to buy groceries at first, he did see Swede's point and became his family's hero. Speaking of the groceries, I think I know why Jeremiah was most happy to see the Hills Brothers coffee. I personally believe coffee is one of the best aromas in the world. I absolutely loved this description of the smell and comfort of coffee:

"Strangely it was the coffee Dad seemed most happy to see and which, brewed, caused our home to feel again like a place where we might live right-side-up. Dad hummed 'God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen,' as he measured grounds into the basket and lit the gas; the pot ticked as it heated; and as it perked a smell came forth like the sunlit hillsides of Mexico, a smell like morning camps described by Theodore Roosevelt in his days as a rancher in North Dakota. Then Dad sat at the kitchen table with a white ceramic cup all asteam and his King James before him ...."
[page 123]

There are two things I think might be important to this story, but I'm not sure. Did any of you see significance in Jeremiah's talk of "high desert" on page 112? Or Reuben's dream of Davy and Tin Lurvy on page 104? Of Davy leaping "wondrously high" and Lurvy saying, "Hey, kids, can I try that?"

To round out my thoughts, I think Andrea called it by saying Lurvy stood out to her. He might be easy to dismiss in some ways, but then in his will, he left an Airstream trailer to Jeremiah which will come in very handy as the Lands set out to find Davy, don't you think? It made Jeremiah laugh with joy, after all!

I jotted down a number of funny quotes, but to close here, I'll just share one:

"Nothing remained of the crib but its black upright timbers, which for frozen steadfastness seemed a jury of Puritans."
[page 117]

So, what did I miss this time? What did y'all notice?
Love?
Dislike?
Favorite quotes?


* - [I'll be reading pages 129-179 for the next discussion ....]